Luke 6:20-36
“Notice what you notice.” I’m sure I’ve seen it before, but… And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them (v. 31). It doesn’t read the same as the more familiar “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” In fact, I had to repeat that line in my reading to make sure that it was the same saying. For me, that quote is one of those “Is that in the Bible?” quotes? Or is that Shakespeare? Or Poor Richard’s Almanac? And it is repeated in Matthew (7:12). It’s always nice to read something in Scripture that is so oft-quoted in society.
Today’s Luke reading could have been broken into two parts to line up better with Matthew. Luke’s Beatitudes and Woes (vv. 20-26) line up with Matthew’s Beatitudes (5:1-12), while Luke’s “Love Your Enemies” section (vv. 27-36) expands on Matthew’s similar section (5:43-48). Matthew, however, has 30 verses in between that Luke picks up on (in part) in other sections. For both, Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount” goes on for two more chapters, while Luke’s much shorter “Sermon on the Plain” continues only for another 13 verses. So they both have more to say.
It’s intriguing that Matthew lists 8 Beatitudes and no Woes, while Luke lists four Blessings and matches those up with four Woes. As we discussed earlier today, many readers expect that both “Sermons” are compilations of what Jesus said on a number of occasions in His time of preaching. Matthew and Luke simply recall and report them differently.
So much more that we could say…
Slava Bohu!